Fittings for mounting accessories on walls and like supports



March 10, 1970 c. L JBAR ER FITTINGS FOR MOUNTING Apdfissonhss on WALLS ANDLIKE SUPPORTS 2 Sheets-Sheei 1 Filed Feb. 8, 1968 l we/vro Curran Z BAP/ 67? c. L. BARKER FITTINGS FOR MOUNTING ACCESSORIES 0N WALLS AND LIKE SUPPORTS Filed Feb. 8, 1968 March 10, 1970 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Maura CLIFFORD Z EMA Er? United States Patent 3,499,626 FITTINGS FOR MOUNTING ACCESSORIES 0N WALLS AND LIKE SUPPORTS Clifford L. Barker, 158 Leckhampton Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England Filed Feb. 8, 1968, Ser. No. 704,062 Claims priority, applicatoggfi/rzgt Britain, Feb. 14, 1967, Int. Cl. A626 23/04,- A47f /08 US. Cl. 248--314 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A fitting comprises a base having a resilient portion and two parallel pillars projecting from opposite sides of the said portion, a rocker located between and journalled in the pillars about an axis parallel to the base, and a coverenclosing the rocker and pillars and detachably assembled to the base, one end of the rocker makes rolling contact with and flexes the resilient portion and is formed with a system of parallel grooves or ribs adapted to make successive engagement with a rib or groove on or in the resilient portion as the rocker is turned about its axis, whereas the opposite rocker end has a pocket which is always exposed through an aperture in the cover and is adapted to be engaged by a projection from an accessory so that, when the fitting is secured upon a support, the accessory may be located and retained resiliently in any one of a range of different angular positions relatively to the support.

This invention relates to fittings for mounting accessories (for example, combined hand-grips and spray nozzles of shower-baths) upon walls or other rigid supports.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a fitting which enables an accessory to be mounted on and dismounted from such a support quickly and easily and, when so mounted, to be set in any one of a range of different angular positions relatively to the support.

In accordance with the said invention, a fitting for the purpose set forth above, comprises a rocker which is located between and is journalled in two pillars projecting from a base adapted to be secured upon a wall or other rigid support, the rocker is adapted to be engaged by an accessory in a readily detachable manner, and the rocker and base are provided with co-operating means adapted to locate and retain the rocker, as it is turned about its axis, resiliently in any one of a range of different angular positions relatively to the base.

Preferably one end of the rocker makes rolling contact with and flexes a resilient portion of the base and the cooperating means consist of a rib or groove which is formed on or in the rocker-contacted surface of the said portion and is adapted to be engaged by any one of a system of grooves or ribs which are formed in or on the said rocker end and are parallel to the rocker axis.

To enable the rocker to be engaged by the accessory, the rocker may be formed with a pocket which opens to its end remote from the flexible base portion, and the accessory may be provided with a projection which is adapted to socket into and make a sliding fit within the pocket.

Further, the rocker and pillars may be enclosed by a cover assembled to the base around the flexible portion and having an aperture through which the mouth of the pocket is exposed in each of the different angular positions of the rocker.

In order that the invention may be understood and carice ried into practice more readily, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is an elevation showing a fitting constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, fixed upon a wall surface and mounting a combined hand grip and spray nozzle of a showerbath upon the said surface.

'FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the fitting.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are, respectively, sections along the lines II and IIII, FIG. 2, and

FIGS. 5 and 6 are, respectively, a front perspective view of a base plate and a rear perspective view of a rocker, incorporated in the fitting.

The fitting shown in the drawing comprises a base plate 1, a rocker 2 and a cover 3'.

The base plate is circular in plan, is formed with a recess 4 in one face (hereinafter referred to as the rear face) thereof and with a platform 5 on its opposite face (hereinafter referred to as the front face). The recess is circular (except that two diametrically opposed bosses 6, of which the rear faces are flush with the rear face of the plate, extend radially inwards from its periphery) and is concentric to the plate, whereas the platform, which is also concentric to the plate, is slightly elliptical and its longer centre line is shorter than the diameter of the plate so that its periphery, which is undercut, is spaced from the plate periphery by a distance which decreases from a maximum at two diametrically opposed positions to a minimum at another two diametrically opposed positions.

The base plate is also formed with a pair of countersunk holes 7 and a parallel pair of slots 8. The centres of the countersunk holes 7 are located in a diameter of the plate and each extends through a corresponding one of the bosses 6 between the front and rear plate faces so that the latter is adapted to be secured, by wood screws or analogous expedients, upon the surface 9 of a Wall or other rigid support, with the recessed rear face seated upon, and the floor of the recess spaced from, the said surface. The slots are located betwen the countersunk holes on opposite sides of and equidistantly from the plate diameter which is at right angles to the diameter containing the centres of the holes, and the longitudinal centre line of each slot is co-extensive with a chord of the recess.

The plate portion 10 flanked by the slots is resilient and, since the floor of the recess is spaced from the rear face of the plate, is capable of being flexed towards the said face even when the plate is secured upon the support surface 9.

Two parallel pillars 11, 12 project from and perpendicularly to the platform 5. The pillars are of the same length, width and thickness, are located respectively, at and midway between the ends of the remote longitudinal edges of the slots, and their width is considerably greater than their thickness which is such that either pillar may be flexed manually about its root away from the other pillar. Each pillar is formed with a slot which is symmetrical to its longitudinal centre line, extends from its root towards its free end, and, at its end remote from the platform, is concave and semi-circular. The slot 13 in the pillar 11 is longer and wider than the slot 14 in the pillar 12, but the semi-circular ends of the two slots are concentric to one another.

The sides 15, 16 of the rocker 2 are fiat and parallel to one another, are spaced apart by distance fractionally less than the distance between the pillars and are provided with spigots 17 and 18 which are in axial alignment and the diameters of which are equal, respectively, to the diameters of the semi-circular ends of the slots 11 and 12. Hence, after flexing one of the pillars away from the other pillar, the rocker may be assembled to the plate by locating it between the pillars, inserting the spigot 18 in the slot 14 and the spigot 17 in the slot 13, and allowing the flexed pillar to spring back to its initial position. The spigots are so located on their respective rocker sides that, upon assembling the rocket to the plate, one end thereof seats upon and flexes the plate portion and the spigots are urged into peripheral abutment with the semi-circular slot ends so that the rocker is journalled in the pillars and is rotatable about the spigot axis which is parallel to the platform and is at right angles to the longitudinal centre line of the resilient plate portion 10.

The rocker end seating upon and flexing said plate portion consists of a central convex portion which has three transverse grooves 19 formed therein, is concentric to the spigot; axis, and is flanked by two flat portions 20 which are tangential to the grooved portion; consequently, as the rocker is turned about the spigot axis, its grooved end portion rolls upon the front face of the plate portion 10 and the angular movement of the rocker is limited by 'respective abutment of the flat portions with the said front face. The grooves 19 are parallel to one another and to the spigot axis and, in cross section, each is of frustoisosceles, triangular shape, the angle included between its relatively inclined sides being of, or in the region of, 40.

A transverse rib 21 of which the cross-sectional shape is complementary to the cross-sectional shape of the grooves 19, is formed on the front face and mid-way between the ends of the resilient plate portion. Hence, by turning the rocker about the spigot axis, the grooved rocker end portion rides over the rib so that the grooves are moved successively into register with the rib and, since the resilient plate portion is flexed, as each groove registers with the rib, the latter is sprung into engagement with the groove and the rocker is held resiliently in a corresponding one of three different angular positions relatively to the base plate.

The opposite end of the rocker is formed with a pocket 22. The pocket is of non-circular cross section and is adapted to be engaged by a projection 23 provided on any accessory, such as the combined hand-grip and spray nozzle 24 shown in FIG. 1, to be mounted on the support surface 9 by the fitting. The projection has a cross section complementary to the cross section of the pocket so that it is adapted to socket and make a sliding fit within the latter whereupon the accessory may be manipulated to turn the rocker about the spigot axis to locate the accessory in any one of three alternative angular positions relatively to the support.

The cover 3 has a circular mouth of which the diameter is equal to the length of the longer centre line of the elliptical platform. Internally of its mouth, the cover is formed with two diametrically opposed lips 25 which, respectively, are sprung into engagement with the undercut periphery of the platform at the ends of the said longer centre line so that the cover is assembled to the base plate in a readily detachable manner, and encloses the pillars 11, 12 and the rocker 2. In addition, the cover has an aperture 26 which is of such shape and dimensions and i so located that the mouth of the pocket 22 is exposed therethrough in each of the different angular positions of the rocker and, therefore, the accessory projection may be socketted into or removed from the pocket irrespectively of the position in which the rocker is retained by the rib 21.

To ensure that inadvertent flexing of the pillars is prevented when the rocker is turned about the spigot axis, the cover is provided with two internal and diametrically opposed cheeks 27 which, respectively, are located upon opposite sides of and are situated close to the pillars.

Secondly, the cover aperture is so located that the pocketted end of the rocker is received therein and the corresponding ends of the fiat rocker sides are parallel and close to the respective adjacent edges of the aperture and, therefore, the rocker prevents the cover being assembled to the base other than in a position in which the pocketted rocker end is movable lengthwise of the said aperture edges.

It is to be understood that, if desired, the number of grooves in the rocker may be increased and/ or instead of forming the grooves in the rocker and providing the resilient plate portion with a transverse rib, the rocker may be provided with three or more ribs and the plate portion may be formed with a transverse groove adapted to be engaged by any one of the said ribs, and the cross-sectional shape of the grooves or ribs may be varied as desired.

I claim:

1. A fitting for mounting an accessory upon a wall or other rigid support, wherein a rocker is located between and journalled in two pillars projecting from a base adapted to be secured upon the support, the rocker is adapted to be engaged by the accessory in a readily detachable manner, and the rocker and base are provided with co-operating means adapted to locate and retain the rocker, as it is turned about its axis, resiliently in any one of a range of different angular positions relatively to the base, one end of the rocker making rolling contact with the base and the co-operating means consist of a rib or groove which is formed in or on the base and is adapted to be engaged by any one of a system of grooves or ribs which are formed in or on the said rocker end and are parallel to the rocker axis, the base portion with which the rocker end makes rolling contact being resilient and flexed by the rocker so that the latter is located and retained resiliently in any one of its alternative angular positions by the interengagement between one of the rocker grooves or ribs with the base rib or groove, said base being provided with two parallel slots and the resilient, flexed base portion is located between, and the pillars are located, respectively, on opposite sides of, the slots.

2. A fitting for mounting an accessory upon a wall or other rigid support, comprising in combination,

a base adapted to be secured to the support,

a pair of pillars projecting from said base in spaced relation to each other,

said base having a flexible portion between said pillars adapted to flex inwardly in response to hearing pressure thereagainst, and

a rocker journalled between said pillars about an axis generally parallel to said base and having an inner end portion flexing said flexure portion of the base inwardly to frictionally hold said rocker in a selected angular position, said rocker being adapted to mount the accessory at its outer end.

3. A fitting as claimed in claim 2 wherein the rocker is formed with a pocket which opens to its end remote from the base and a projection from the accessory is adapted to socket into and make a sliding fit within the pocket.

4. A fitting as claimed in claim 2, wherein the pillars and rocker are enclosed by a cover which is detachably assembled to the base and has an aperture through which the pocketed rocker end is exposed in each of the alternative angular positions of the rocker.

5. A fitting as claimed in claim 2 wherein each of the pillars has a longitudinal slot of which the end remote from the base is concave and semi-circular, is engaged by a corresponding one of two co-axial spigots provided, respectively, on opposite sides of the rocker, and each spigot is urged against the corresponding semi-circular slot end by the resilient, flexed base portion.

6. A fitting as defined in claim 2 wherein said inner end of the rocker and said portion of the base are provided with interengaging tongue and groove means establishing frictional interlock therebetween.

7. A fitting as defined in claim 2 wherein said base 5 is in the form of a plate, the face of said plate on the opposite sides from said pillar having an outstanding flange surrounding said portion of the base for seating against the support and to define a recess permitting the inward flexing of said portion.

8. A fitting as defined in claim 7 wherein said base is provided with slots adjacent said pillars and along opposite sides of said portion of the base to allow the inward flexing thereof.

9. A fitting as defined in claim 2 wherein said base is provided with slots adjacent said pillars and along opposite sides of said portion of the base to allow the inward flexing thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,512,581 10/1924 Deming 248-75 5 FOREIGN PATENTS 650,186 10/1962 Canada. 127,473 2/1950 Sweden.

ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner 10 J. F. FOSS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

